Stupid Turtle Luck
by TMNT-Queen
Summary: The evening had been going so well. It was relatively peaceful for once, meaning that Leo and his brothers could actually relax for a change. For a while, they'd been laughing and talking and enjoying each other's company. And then their Turtle Luck just had to rear its ugly head. (Set in the 2003 universe. Rated T for some language.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _I decided to make this book (short story, whatever) because I was inspired by two people. TheRedScreech and her amazing story "Best Birthday Ever," and EmilyGrace18 and her fantastic tale "Bad Day." I did get their permission to do a similar story - and I'm throwing their books out there because (1) they're so awesome, and (2) I have a great respect for the two authors. Red, Emily...I guess this book kind of goes to you guys._

 **Stupid Turtle Luck**

The evening had been going so well. It was relatively peaceful for once, meaning that Leo and his brothers could actually relax for a change. For a while, they'd been laughing and talking and enjoying each other's company - even with the minor arguments that he and Raph had.

And then their Turtle Luck just had to rear its ugly head.

 _"Leo, how ya holdin' up?"_

Raph's voice snapped him from his thoughts. "Um..." Glancing around, the leader assessed the situation. It didn't look all that promising, actually. But he didn't say that. "I'm doing okay."

 _"On a scale of one to ten?"_ Mikey chimed in helpfully.

"...seven?"

 _"Leonardo..."_

Make that _un_ helpfully, Leo thought, growling a little. "It's fine, Donnie. Really." It would be if he just stayed where he was, at least. The ledge was unstable enough without him moving around - he was hesitant to even breath, at this point. He shifted just a little further backwards, pushing himself away from the steep drop below. The old concrete gave a groan and he swore softly.

The recent earthquake in New York had really destabilized parts of the sewer system, even with the tremors being as small as they were. The sewer system was old, anyway, and the quake sped up the crumbling process.

Leo just happened to fall down one of the pipes that were worse off.

"Stupid turtle luck," he muttered.

 _"What was that, bro?"_

"Nothing. Are you guys close?"

 _"We're about an hour out. Can you hold on that long?"_

"Yeah. Yeah, I should be fine." Leo was well aware that he was saying that more to reassure _himself_ than his brothers. After all, they weren't the ones sitting on the lip of an old concrete pipe that creaked every few seconds and threatened to dump him down a long, dark shaft with no discernible bottom.

The leader took a moment to focus his thoughts on what exactly had led him to this point. He supposed that it all started with the cookies...

* * *

"Come on, Leo! Hurry your shell up!" Mikey called impatiently, dancing a few feet ahead of his brothers. "If we don't hurry, we're gonna miss out on the grand opening of that new bakery!"

"I don't even know how I let you talk me into this," the blue-banded turtle grumbled in response. The only reason he'd agreed to go was because Mikey had promised him snickerdoodles. "We're dressed up like it's Halloween. Are these disguises even going to work?"

"Technically, we don't dress up for Halloween," Donnie put in as he walked through the sewer tunnel alongside his eldest sibling. "People already assume we're in costume."

"Besides," Raph added in his thick Brooklyn accent, "I've worn my disguise out plenty 'a times with Case, and no one ever says a word."

"My _point_ is that we're ninjas. We-"

"Stick to the shadows, yadda yadda yadda. We know. We've only heard ya preach about it a thousand times."

Leo's face darkened in a scowl and he muttered a few choice words under his breath. Donnie, wisely, chose to ignore him. Raph wasn't nearly as smart.

"Y'know what I think?" the hothead piped up. "I think yer scared."

"What?"

"I think yer scared ta go out and enjoy yerself fer once. After all, what would it say about the Fearless Leader if he actually - gasp - _had fun?"_

Said turtle growled a little and shoved his hands into the pockets of the ridiculously large trench coat he was wearing for their trip up to the surface, but made no comment. Raph's eyes narrowed. Seemed like he was gonna have to try harder if he wanted to get Leo to snap.

"Ya seriously need ta loosen up and enjoy yerself fer once, Leo. Yer walkin' like ya got a stick shoved up yer ass."

"You know what, Raphael? Why don't I _-"_

Leo's retort was cut off as he tensed suddenly, pulling the rest of them into a darkened tunnel. His brothers glanced at each other and started reaching for their weapons...and then a group of heavily armed, black-clothed figures surrounded them from every angle.

"Well, well, well," one of the Foot Ninja said. "What have we here?"

"Looks like Halloween came early this year," another replied. "Isn't it a bit early for the costumes, freaks?"

Mikey sniggered. "Leo totally called it."

A sigh escaped the leader's mouth and he shucked off the trench coat and fedora, dumping them unceremoniously on the tunnel floor. He drew his katana and stepped forward. "And tonight was going so well."

* * *

Donnie's worried voice crackled through the Shell cell. _"Leo? Leo, are you there?"_

"Yeah. I'm here."

 _"Ya blanked out on us, bro. What's goin' through that thick head 'a yers?"_ Raph's jibe came across warm and teasing, making his older brother grin a little.

"Just trying to figure out exactly how I got myself into this position."

 _"Wasn't your fault, bro,"_ Mikey said. _"Could've happened to any of us."_

Leo raised an eye ridge, though he knew they couldn't see it. "Any of you would've tackled a Foot Soldier down a sewer pipe to keep him from taking Donnie's head off with a katana, fallen down a drainage shaft that's crumbling because of the recent earthquake, and found yourself stuck on a collapsing ledge four feet wide and three feet long?"

The silence on the other end of the line gave him his answer. No, they wouldn't have done what he did. They _c_ _ouldn't_ have done what he did. Save other people from the Foot and Purple Dragons? Sure. Piece of cake. Save each _other_ from the Foot and Purple Dragons? That was another matter entirely. None of the brothers could've stopped the Foot soldier in time. He was too close to Donnie - it would've been too risky to even step a hairsbreadth closer.

But not for Leo _._ He'd leapt across the sewer tunnel, his teeth bared in a snarl. His attack on the soldier had been fueled by anger alone - something his siblings referred to as his "protective rage." No one hurt his family. _No one._

And, in typical Leonardo fashion, the action of protecting his brainy brother came at a large personal cost. The weight of his body slamming into the Foot soldier knocked Donnie out of the way...but it also carried the grappling pair towards the edge of the tunnel they were currently standing in.

A _crack_ sounded and everyone froze. Leo, who had the soldier in a choke-hold, glanced down at the fractured concrete beneath his feet. His cobalt eyes widened and he slowly looked up to meet Raph's horrified gaze.

And then the floor crumbled completely, sending him falling into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Stupid Turtle Luck, Part Two**

Leo snapped his eyes open as something like a dull rumble invaded the trancelike state he'd fallen into while waiting for the guys to arrive. The cobalt orbs narrowed and he spoke into his phone again, knowing that his brothers were still on the other side of the line. "Hey, Donnie?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"You said that they don't use this tunnel for drainage anymore, didn't you?"

 _"...yeah. Why?"_

"I thought I heard... never mind. I'm sure it's nothing."

 _"Leo, what did you hear?"_

"I-" The leader's voice trailed off as the rumbling grew louder. He swallowed. "I think that they might've decided to use it to divert the water from the pipes that burst during the earthquake."

 _"WHAT? Leo, you need to get out of there right now!"_

Whatever the oldest might've said in reply was drowned out by the roar of the approaching water. "Oh, shit."

Leo pressed the END CALL button and stowed the phone in his belt, then gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into the concrete walls, trying to make himself as small a target as possible. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. And then a huge wall of water slammed into him. For a brief moment, his tactic seemed to work - he was holding his own against the insistent pull of the water and whatever else was in the liquid that he didn't want to think about.

And then his left hand slipped free.

The blue-banded turtle's eyes widened and he tried frantically to get a new handhold. But the current was too strong, and he was losing oxygen too rapidly. The water jerked him backwards, twisting his occupied arm into a position it wasn't meant to be in. Something _cracked_ and Leo screamed in pain, squeezing his eyes shut.

That was his worst mistake.

No sooner had he done that then he lost his grip completely and went spinning into the torrent of water. Then he was falling, falling, falling down the drainage shaft. His head slammed into something hard and unyielding.

And the world went black.

* * *

 _"Oh, shit."_

The whispered expletive was the last thing Donnie and his brothers heard before the call disconnected. The three turtles were silent for a few moments, staring wide-eyed at each other. And then: "DID HE JUST HANG UP ON US?!" Mikey screeched, panicking. "Why would he hang up on us, Donnie?! Is he okay?! We have to find him! We have to-"

 _SLAP!_

Raph shook out his hand, ignoring a glare the now red-faced Mikey was giving him. "Calm down, shellbrain! I'm sure he's fine! He probably just wanted ta get a good hold on tha tunnel, 's all." The hothead turned his gaze to the resident genius. "Donnie?"

"I-I can't find his signal anymore," Donnie whispered. "Raph, I can't find his T-Phone signal. Either the phone broke, or he lost it, or...or..."

"He's fine," Raph repeated fiercely. "He has ta be. Do ya still have his last location?"

"Y-Yeah, but-"

"Then we start there."

"And if we don't find him?" Mikey asked hesitantly.

"We keep lookin' until we do."

* * *

Leo groaned, his eyelids fluttering open. He was soaking wet and everything _hurt._ He couldn't see much in the darkness, but judging by the fiery pain shooting across the right side of his body, his right arm and leg had taken most of the impact from his fall.

He took a breath, wincing as the movement stretched the aching muscles in his chest. Eventually, through the ringing in his ears, he processed the fact that his phone was buzzing in his pocket. He used his left arm to answer. "Hello?" the leader rasped.

 _"What the hell happened?!"_ Raph roared, his frantic tone rising over Donnie's and Mikey's. _"Ya just hung up on us! We've been callin' ya fer half an hour and ya didn't answer!"_

Pain lanced through Leo's skull at his brother's volume. "Could you maybe...y'know... _not_ yell at me? I've got a splitting headache right now."

 _"Leo."_ Donnie came onto the line, speaking quieter than the others. _"What happened?"_

"Water was stronger than I was. Lost my grip and fell."

 _"You FELL?!"_

"Volume?"

Leo's request went unheeded as his brainy brother started rattling off questions. _"How far did you fall? Can you see anything? How badly are you hurt?"_

The leader squinted through the darkness, trying to determine the answer to at least one of the questions. Unfortunately, he was in too much pain to even halfheartedly figure it out. "Um...I don't know, no, and I don't know."

 _"Is it dry in the shaft where you are right now?"_

Well, he was lying in a half-foot deep puddle of water, so... "I'm going to say no."

 _"I need you to try and determine how bad a shape you're in."_

A grimace crossed Leo's face. This was gonna hurt. But Donnie wouldn't calm down until he knew the full extent of his brother's injuries. Better to just get it over with. "Okay."

He started with his toes. They could move - a good sign. He wasn't paralyzed, at least. But when the eldest tried to shift his right leg, a jolt of white-hot pain shot upwards. He hissed.

 _"Leo?"_

"Give me a second," came the grunted reply.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Leo continued his inventory. His right wrist was probably fractured and his shoulder was _definitely_ dislocated from trying to hold onto the tunnel wall. There was a nasty lump on the back of his head, and a long gash on his left thigh that was mostly crusted over with drying blood.

The leader relayed the information to Donnie, adding the fact that his chest hurt so bad it was hard to breathe.

The purple-banded turtle cursed into the receiver and Leo winced. He knew it wasn't good when the resident pacifist started swearing. _"Can you move?"_

"Not much."

 _"Has any more water come down since you woke up?"_

"No."

 _"Okay. Okay. It's okay."_ From Donnie's tone, it clearly wasn't. _"We'll be there soon."_

"I'll try not to die before you get here," Leo joked weakly. His statement was met with silence. "Guys...come on. It'll be okay. We'll all be laughing and joking about this tomorrow, I promise."

 _"You getting hurt is nothing to joke about, Leo."_

Mikey's voice, so quiet and serious, stunned the leader. "Mikey, I-"

 _"We'll see you soon. You need to conserve your battery power."_

There was a click as the call disconnected. Leo pulled the device away from his ear and stared at it for a moment. "I didn't mean..."

Suddenly, a very familiar noise filled the drainage shaft and set the walls and floor rumbling. Dread curled in Leo's gut. _Not again._

 **A/N: Sooo...apparently there's a cliffhanger here. Didn't see that coming. *rolls eyes***

 **In all seriousness, though, I felt that writing anything more in this chapter would've just made it too long. Hence the cliffhanger.**

 **EmilyGrace18, I know you said that you liked the balance between the humor and the drama, and I wanted to apologize for the lack of humor in this chapter. I know it was mostly drama. Sorry 'bout that.**

 **Please review, guys. It means a lot to me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stupid Turtle Luck, Part 3**

As the floor continued to rumble, Leo's heart pounded in his chest. He needed to move. _Now._

The leader gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes shut. He sat up quickly, every nerve in his body snapping with fiery pain. Something like a scream slipped past his lips and he used his left hand to push himself backwards.

Several minutes later, Leo was sitting with his shell against the wall - sweating, panting, aching. His throat was raw from screaming and he was pretty sure that the cut on his thigh had reopened. But at least he was out of the direct path of the coming downpour.

And without a moment to spare. With the _creak_ of a rusty door opening, water started pouring from above. Leo gasped as the icy cold liquid splashed over his legs and up his plastron. He did his best to stay above the waves that threatened to drag him down - not an easy task with half of his body as good as paralyzed.

The water stung at his cut, making him think that Donnie would be sure to lecture him later about infection. The only blessing right now was that the temperature of the water helped numb the rest of his injuries.

Finally, the deluge stopped. Leo noted that he had risen about ten feet off of the floor as he floated upwards with the water. His broken wrist didn't really hurt anymore, and neither did his right leg - which probably should've worried him. But right now, he was simply too exhausted to care. A sigh escaped his mouth and he closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall of his stone prison.

"Hurry up, guys. Please."

As if on cue, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Cobalt eyes snapped open and he snatched up the device, thanking the stars that Donnie had made their phones waterproof.

"Hey, Don," the eldest greeted, doing all he could to keep his teeth from chattering.

 _"I've got some bad news."_

The grimness of Donnie's voice was indication enough. "The tunnel is blocked, isn't it?"

 _"Unfortunately, yes. The quakes must've made this area of the system too weak. The tunnel that you fell through collapsed sometime when we were going home to get our supplies."_

Fear surged in Leo's veins but he shook his head and tried to focus. "So what does that mean? I'm trapped down here?"

 _"Not necessarily. It looks like there are two other ways into the shaft. There's an access hatch at the top, and a smaller pipe closer to the bottom, where you are. A grate covers the entrance to the lower one. Is there any way that you could make it through the pipe?"_

The pipe which was currently flooded with water? Ordinarily, Leo could hold his breath for almost three minutes. But that was when he was in peak physical condition - without injuries or freezing cold water thrown into the mix. "No. Not with my leg and arm hurt as badly as they are."

 _"Okay. We'll come down and get you then. It'll take maybe another hour to get to the other side."_

"Okay."

 _"What else?"_

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

 _"There's something else, isn't there? Another reason why you can't go through the pipe."_

Several curse-words rose to Leo's mind and he sighed. There was a reason why Donnie was considered the genius of the family. "...it's flooded."

 _"What do you mean, it's flooded? The pipe? Or the shaft?"_

"Um...yes?"

 _"Leonardo! Why didn't you SAY anything?!"_

"What exactly was I supposed to say?" the leader asked defensively. "'Oh, by the way, the shaft is flooded with ice cold water and I can't feel my lower half anymore but it's all kosher'?"

 _Oops. Didn't mean to say that._ The cold must've been messing with his brain.

 _"Leo, you need to get out of the water. You HAVE_ _to get out of the water, or else you'll get hypothermia and-"_

"I know what'll happen," Leo snapped. "There's nowhere for me to go, Donnie. I'm stuck down here with no way out and...and-" His voice broke. "I never thought I'd go out this way," he whispered, more to himself than to his brother. "I always wanted... _expected_...to die in the heat of battle or something. Not like this."

There was a beat of silence and then a brief scuffle on the other end of the line. _"Gimme that."_ Raph's words were harsh and firm. _"Ya ain't dyin' today, bro. Not if I have anythin' ta say 'bout it."_

"Raph..."

 _"Don't 'Raph' me. I know what that tone means. Yer givin' up, aren't ya? Ya think that there's no way fer us ta save yer sorry ass. Well, yer wrong. I'm gonna go down that shaft and haul ya up myself if I have ta."_

"Injuries and all?"

 _"Injuries and all."_ The brawler's voice softened. _"Ya save us all the time, Leo. Let us return the favor fer once. A'ight?"_

A small smile made Leo's lips twitch upwards. "A'ight."

 _"Good. Now, don't ya dare go and die on us, hear me? Ya do and I'll kill ya myself."_

"Raph?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"I love you."

 _"Love ya too, knucklehead."_

Leo hung up and put his phone back in his belt, sighing a little. _Just have to hang on until they get here._

It should've been easy. But with turtle luck, _nothing_ is ever easy.

And he was about to find out just how difficult it could be.

 **A/N: Another sort-of cliffhanger. I know, I know. I'm really bad about that. *sheepish grin***

 **In reality though...Leo's day is about to get a lot worse. Will the guys save him in time? Will he make it back to the Lair? Will he ever get those snickerdoodles?** **The world may never know. *insert evil laugh***

 **Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Stupid Turtle Luck, Part 4**

By the time Leo's phone rang again, his teeth were chattering uncontrollably. The water was still ice cold, and he was pretty sure that his body temperature was dropping to match.

"H-Hello?"

This time it was Mikey's voice over the line. _"Hey, bro. I've got you on speakerphone. Don and Raph are running right beside me."_

"Hey, g-guys. How's it going over t-there?"

 _"Oh, ya know...just runnin' till my legs fall off,"_ came Raph's tone, sarcastic as ever. But there was still a hint of softness to his words. _"How ya holdin' up, Fearless?"_

"B-Been better," Leo admitted, shivering involuntarily.

 _"We're about ten minutes away,"_ Donnie said. _"Can you hold on that long?"_

"Yeah, I t-think so."

 _"How cold are you right now?"_

"I'd s-say somewhere between n-numb and freezing my s-shell off," the leader rasped. "Also, I c-can't feel my l-legs anymore."

 _"Are you still treading water?"_

"For n-now."

 _"Cut the pessimistic crap, Leo. Yer gonna make it. Ya have ta make it."_

"N-Not so s-sure about that t-this time, R-Raph. I-"

Suddenly, Leo's hand cramped. _Badly._ He yelped in pain and his fingers released the phone... which plummeted into the cold water.

"No!"

Without thinking, the leader dove after the device. It was dark under the water. All he could see was the feeble light his phone gave off as it sank to the bottom of the shaft.

Grim determination filled Leo's veins as he swam downwards. He _had_ to get that phone. It was his only connection to his brothers. He was within arm's length of it when the screen flickered and went dark, plunging him into blackness.

And before he could grab the waterlogged phone, the floor started rumbling again.

* * *

There was no sound in the sewer tunnel except for panting... and cursing. "I can't get him," Donnie said grimly. "He won't answer."

"Don't matter," Raph huffed. "We're close now."

They were within three minutes of the shaft when they felt it. The floor vibrated under their feet, sending Donnie stumbling into Raph. The brawler easily caught him and set him back on his feet.

"Easy, Don. We don't need another turtle gettin' hurt."

Mikey's eyes widened as the floor continued shaking. "Man! What the shell _is_ that?"

Donnie's brain flew through calculations and he bit his lip as the only possible conclusion presented itself to him. "The shaft is getting ready to fill up with water again."

His brothers stiffened. Raph glanced sidelong at him. "Leo's got enough room, right?"

"I... I don't know. The shaft should've been pretty deep, considering how far he fell, but with his injuries and the numbness, I don't know how much longer he can hold out."

"Then no more talking," The youngest butted in. "We have to get to Leo. Now."

* * *

His lungs spasmed and he winced, finally reaching the phone and shoving it into his belt. Then it was a battle to get up to the surface again, because - surprise! - his legs weren't working. Leo propelled himself as hard as he could with only one arm. He was inches away from the top of the water when his ears caught the familiar squeaking of a rusted drain flap.

 _No. Not now. Please not now._

But fate was against him. The water poured down from the ceiling in a frigid, deadly arc. Leo punched through the surface and grabbed one lungful of precious oxygen right before the new water swept him under.

Down he went, right back down to the bottom of the shaft... which was now at least fifteen feet under. His body gave sharp protests of pain as he was flung into the sides of his stone-walled prison. And then he wasn't floating around anymore.

Because his left foot had gotten lodged in between the bars of the grate.

 **A/N: Man, Leo's Turtle Luck is pretty terrible... There'll probably be one more chapter (maybe two).**

 **Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm so sorry for taking such a long time to update, guys. Life has been...well, it's been pretty crazy. No excuse, I know, but...anyway, let's get going._

 **Stupid Turtle Luck, Part 5**

Panic surged in Leo's veins, battling with the ice-water chilling him to the bone. The blue-banded terrapin reached down with his one good hand and frantically tugged on his leg. The effort was in vain, though, and all he succeeded in doing was causing the trapped appendage to bleed more. A cloud of red mushroomed through the water around him and he mentally cursed.

 _Great. Bleeding out, freezing, and asphyxiating. Always wanted to play "One Hundred Ways to Die."_

Leo swallowed and forced himself to calm down. He had maybe a minute of air left _if_ he was lucky, which he hadn't been so far - _stupid Turtle Luck -,_ and a rapidly beating heart used oxygen up faster than a calm one.

As his pulse slowed, the leader could finally see the entire picture (metaphorically speaking, since the drainage shaft was pitch black at the bottom). The realization was an unsettling one. Logically speaking, he was trapped with no way to breathe. His phone was dead, meaning that his brothers couldn't find him down here. He knew he was rapidly bleeding out, despite not being able to feel it or see it. And there was probably already permanent damage to his body because of the time he'd spent in the freezing water.

 _I'm going to die._

Strangely enough, the thought didn't sound as terrifying to him now. In fact, he was almost...at peace. The only regret Leo had was not being able to see his family one more time before he left. But Death had been cheated out of claiming him too many times already, and it was not going to be denied again.

As it stood, Leo was definitely the most hated and feared by the Hamato Clan's enemies. He was the one with the most death threats hanging over his head and the most targets on his back. Why? Simply because he had given _everything._

The leader's pure selfless love for his family had painted those targets on his back. There was no line he wouldn't cross, no length to which he wouldn't go to make sure that they always got out alive. And if that meant taking down the entire Foot Clan by himself, that's what he'd do.

A wry smile appeared on Leo's face at that. He'd almost succeeded in toppling Shredder's dark empire one night - all on his own - to make sure the warlord would never come after his family again. And it had come at a dear price. He'd been hunted for weeks. Shredder's remaining men had scoured the city above for any trace of the blue-banded ninja that had nearly destroyed the Foot Clan, but found nothing. Because that's what Leo had _wanted_ them to find.

His thoughts drifted as his heartbeat decreased and his lungs slowly ran out of air. Snapshots played through Leo's mind - memories, snippets of the past.

 _Mikey and Raph, arguing over the TV remote while Donnie rolled his eyes and fiddled with the captured Kraang droid._

 _Master Splinter, calmly sipping at a cup of herbal tea while one of his soaps played._

 _April and Donnie kissing under the mistletoe at Christmastime._

 _Casey laughing while Leo yelled at Raph for drinking a beer or two._

 _Mikey grinning because Leo had helped him prank the others._

 _The time he'd kissed Karai on New Year's Eve._

The eldest's smile turned sad and he closed his eyes. More memories slipped through. His first meditation session. Being made leader. Taking on the mantle of Sensei.

So many other things that he'd experienced...as well as wishes about things he would never get to experience.

 _I wish that I could've been here even a little longer,_ Leo thought wistfully. _I had a good run, but...if I could stay even a little longer, I'd be better. I would be a better brother. Spend more time with the guys, and April, and Casey. Have more fun. Not...how did Raph put it? Oh, yeah. Not walk like I've got a stick shoved up my ass._

His lungs burned now and his head ached. A single tear slid into the frigid water from behind his closed eyelids. Leo opened up his cobalt eyes, taking in the darkness of the shaft and the light shining far above him. _I love you guys. I love you all so much and...and I'm sorry. Forgive me._

And he let go.

 **A/N: Well, darn. Looks like one more chapter after all, guys. Sorry 'bout that. XD**

 **Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6, Version 1 (Happy Ending)

**Stupid Turtle Luck, Part 6 (Version 1)**

 _Exactly o_ _ne and a half minutes later..._

As soon as they arrived at the drainage shaft, they knew something was wrong. By this point, water lapped against the sides of the shaft halfway up the walls.

"Leo, we're here!" Donnie called down the hole. "We're gonna get you out of there!"

No answer.

Something caught the genius's eye. Something long and tattered and floating on top of the water. With horror, Donnie realized what it was. The wrapping from Leo's katana. "Raph!" he cried, pointing.

Raph snarled at the sight. With a roar, he ripped away the grate that covered the access hatch at the top of the shaft. The cold metal stung his hands, and a few layers of skin came off with the grate, but he didn't care. He placed a flashlight between his teeth, took a deep breath, and dove into the freezing water.

Down he swam. Fifteen, twenty, thirty feet. His ears popped with the building pressure.

Then everything froze. Because Leo was less than ten feet away...and he wasn't moving.

Icy fear shot through Raph's veins and he propelled himself through the water at a greater speed, reaching his brother in no time. It was hard to make anything out at this depth, but he found the grate on the wall soon enough. And he discovered that Leo's foot was stuck but good.

A scowl contorted Raph's face and he jerked on the grate. It didn't budge. _Dammit!_ That meant there was only one way to pull his sibling free. Gritting his teeth, Raph reached down and took hold of the leader's foot. _Sorry, bro. This is gonna hurt._

He gripped Leo's foot tight and _yanked._ Something gave way with an awful crack that was audible even through the water. A shudder ran through Leo's body, and Raph felt a brief moment of satisfaction. His blue-banded brother was still alive - barely.

With the two-toed extremity broken, the hothead was able to slip it free from the grate. What followed was a ten minute long battle to get Leo to the surface. After much effort - _muscles screaming, lungs burning, every nerve ending going numb from the cold_ \- Raph clawed his way up to the top of the water. He gasped for breath as his head broke the surface.

Then two pairs of arms were there, pulling them from the frigid prison. Raph collapsed, shivering, onto the concrete and gratefully accepted the towel held out to him. Mikey inhaled with shock as he took in the sight of his oldest brother.

The brother whose body was so marred with bruises and cuts. The brother whose right shoulder and arm were contorted in an angle so sickeningly _wrong._ The brother who was coated in red.

The brother who wasn't breathing.

"Donnie!" the orange-banded turtle screamed.

Donnie swore loudly. "Not now. Not when we were so close!" He leaned over Leo's scarred torso, strong arms pumping a steady rhythm on the yellow plastron. Pushed air into a blue-lipped mouth.

And by some miracle, Leo's eyes fluttered open. He coughed weakly, teeth chattering. "D-Donnie?"

"I'm here, Leo," the genius whispered. Tears filled his eyes. "We're all here."

"H-Hurts..."

"I know. But you have to hang on. I need you to stay awake until we get home."

Leo shook his head ever-so-slightly. His breath rattled in his chest. "C-Can't...h-hold on t-that l-long. T-Too c-cold. W-Want to s-sleep."

"You can sleep at the Lair. We'll wrap you up in so many blankets you won't be able to move, and Mikey will make you some of his pizza-noodle-soup. Okay?" A mumbled noise was the only response Donnie got. He took it to mean yes. "Help me get him up, Mike. We need to get him home as fast as possible."

"But it's like an hour away," Mikey replied tensely. "I don't think he can m-"

"He has to."

* * *

 _No...can't have my brothers. Never hurt my brothers._

Donnie, talk ta me. What's goin' on?

His blood pressure and body temperature are dropping again. We need to get to the Lair _now._

We're still fifteen minutes out!

Hang on, Leo. You have to hang on. Just a little while longer.

 _Wanna sleep._

I know. But we're almost home. I promise.

 _Cheated too many times..._

Cheated on what? What's he talkin' about?

I-I don't know.

 _He's coming...he wants me._

Who wants you? Where is he?

 _Everywhere. In everything. Can't...can't hold him off this time._

Don, he's fadin' again! Ya gotta do somethin'!

Leo, stay awake! Come on, bro, you gotta-

Don't let go, not now-

 _I'm sorry..._

LEO!

* * *

 _Water lapping at stone. Pain. Cold. Darkness._

"No..."

 _Murmuring voices. Light, trickling through cracked eyelids. Warmth._

Blessed warmth.

Cobalt eyes shot open. Leo gasped for breath, his pulse slowing after a moment. He wasn't in a stone-walled prison, but the lab. The lab. Which meant...

He was home.

The leader took in the large pile of blankets on top of him - underneath which, he knew, there were so many layers of bandages. He could feel casts on his right wrist and...left foot?

 _Don't remember breaking that._

What he could see of his skin was mottled purple and black and blue. There was an IV hooked into his left hand, no doubt for pumping morphine and other things into his system.

Then he realized something else. He was alone. Panic surged in his veins and a chill crept up the back of his neck. "Guys?" he rasped. Nobody came, so he cleared his throat and tried again.

Suddenly Donnie was there, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. "Holy crap. You...you're awake. You're _awake!_ SENSEI, MIKEY, RAPH! GET IN HERE!"

Feet pounded on the floor and the three of them rushed into the room. Mikey immediately burst into tears. Splinter used a shaking hand to cover his mouth. Even Raph was sniffling as he punched Leo on his good shoulder.

"You son of a b-"

"Raphael." But the rat master's reprimand wasn't as sharp as it normally would've been. He gave a watery smile and pressed a kiss to Leo's forehead. "You had us worried, my son."

Whatever Leo was about to say in reply was cut short, because a pair of lanky arms were around his shoulders and there were salty drops of liquid falling onto his plastron. "Don't you _ever_ do that again," Donnie said harshly, crying. "You hear me? Don't you _ever_ sacrifice yourself for me again. Why do you have to be so...so... _selfless_ _?_ Why do you have to care so much?"

"Because you all mean so much to me," Leo replied, tears trickling down his own face. "You mean so much to everything. I will never let anything happen to you."

"Dammit," the genius swore, still blubbering. "Stop being so good and honorable and just be selfish for once in your life. For once, would you think about yourself first?"

A small, pained smile appeared on the blue-banded turtle's face. "I _was_ thinking about myself, Don," he said softly. "I _was_ being selfish. Because you guys, my family...that's what makes me happy. I'm always selfish. I want to keep you safe at any cost. Even personal ones."

"Well, next time you want to do something stupid like dive off of a cliff to save my life, can you ask for my permission first?"

Don just sounded so whiny and petulant and wounded that Leo couldn't help himself. A snort of laughter escaped his lips. And just like that, the tension was broken. Mikey and Raph burst into giggling fits, Donnie not far behind. Even Master Splinter was chuckling.

A weight lifted off of Leo's shoulders as he watched his family. After the recent events, even though Leo thought he'd never get to experience another moment like this...he was still alive. If he closed his eyes, he could swear he saw Death growling at him. But the leader just smiled. _Better luck next time_ _._

The road to come wouldn't be easy. In fact, it would probably be very difficult, and very painful. But he could worry about that later. Because they were all still here, together, after all this time, against all odds. They'd survived so much trauma and pain and heartbreak. And each time, they came out stronger than ever before.

 _Turtle Luck, true to form._

 **A/N: I thought I'd do two endings: one happy, one sad. Y'know, cuz not every story has a happy ending.** **But if you like happy endings, you don't have to keep reading. You can stop right here. ;)**

 **If you _want_ to keep reading, then thank you. I'll (hopefully) have Version 2 up soon. **

**As always, please review, guys!**

 **Yours,  
Queen**


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